System and method for collaborative battery power

Abstract

Systems, methods, and computer-readable storage media for distributing battery power among two or more devices. As a device determines that it needs additional battery power, it sends a request to other devices requesting that those other devices transfer battery power to the device. As devices receive the request, responses to the request are generated and sent back to the requesting device, each response providing an answer as to the ability of each respective device to fulfill the request. The requesting device receives the responses, aggregates and/or analyzes the responses, and determines how to obtain the needed battery power based on the responses. Changes to configurations of the devices would then be broadcast to the group, with any power transitions likewise similarly being broadcast to the group.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A method comprising:
 identifying, via a processor at a first device in a plurality of devices, a need for additional battery power to complete a task;   transmitting, via a wireless mesh network, a request for the additional battery power to one or more member devices in the plurality of devices, wherein the request indicates a planned transfer state required to achieve the additional battery power;   receiving, via the wireless mesh network and from the one or more member devices in the plurality of devices, a plurality of responses to the request, wherein each response in the plurality of responses contains a binary competence of a respective member device in the plurality of devices to provide the additional battery power;   aggregating, via the processor, the plurality of responses to the request until a predefined time period expires, to yield aggregated responses, wherein the aggregated responses comprise a state of battery power being used by each device in the plurality of devices when the request was made;   modifying the planned transfer state based on the aggregated responses, to yield a modified transfer state, wherein in the modified transfer state the additional battery power is distributed from at least one additional member device in the plurality of member devices to the first device;   initiating the modified transfer state within the first device;   transmitting instructions to the at least one additional member device to execute the modified transfer state; and   receiving the additional battery power from the at least one additional member device.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 planning a state transition to the modified transfer state based on a local power algorithm at the first device.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein at least one response in the plurality of responses is incorporated into a block chain. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the binary competence indicates a degree to which each member device in the plurality of devices may be able to assist with the request. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein each device in the plurality of devices analyzes a potential impact associated with the planned transfer state based on a dependency tree that describes relationships among the plurality of devices and determines whether the each device may assist with the planned transfer state based on a potential impact to the each device. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein when a member device in the plurality of devices has no power resources available the member device does not send a response to the request. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein at least one member device in the plurality of devices designates a proxy device to determine whether to approve or disapprove the planned transfer state on behalf of the at least one member device. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 sharing a final decision indicating that the modified transfer state will be initiated to the plurality of devices by updating a block chain ledger shared among the plurality of devices; and   initiating the modified transfer state subsequent to sharing the final decision.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein initiating the modified transfer state comprises reallocating computing resources within at least one of the processor and a memory electronically connected to the processor. 
     
     
         10 . A system, comprising:
 a processor; and   a computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:
 identifying, at a first device in a plurality of devices, a need for additional battery power; 
 transmitting a request for the additional battery power to one or more member devices in the plurality of devices, wherein the request indicates a planned transfer state required to transfer the additional battery power; 
 receiving, from at least one member device in the plurality of devices, at least one response to the request, wherein the at least one response contains a binary competence of the at least one member device to provide the additional battery power; and 
 initiating, based on the binary competence, the planned transfer state based on the at least one response to the request. 
   
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 10 , the computer-readable storage medium having additional instruction stored which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:
 aggregating a plurality of responses to the request, including the at least one response, until a predefined time period expires, to yield aggregated responses, wherein the aggregated responses comprises a state of battery power being used when the request was made by each device in the plurality of devices; and   upon concluding the predefined time period, analyzing the aggregated responses to determine whether to initiate the planned transfer state.   
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 10 , the computer-readable storage medium having additional instruction stored which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:
 planning a state transition to the planned transfer state based on a local power algorithm at the first device.   
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the at least one response to the request is incorporated into a block chain. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the binary competence indicates a degree to which the at least one member device may be able to assist with the request. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein each device in the plurality of devices analyzes a potential impact associated with the planned transfer state based on a dependency tree that describes relationships among the plurality of devices and determines whether the each device may assist with the planned transfer state based on a potential impact to the each device. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein when a member device in the plurality of devices has no power resources available the member device does not send a response to the request. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the at least one member device in the plurality of devices designates a proxy device to determine whether to approve or disapprove the planned transfer state on behalf of the at least one member device. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 10 , the computer-readable storage medium having additional instruction stored which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:
 sharing a final decision indicating that the planned transfer state will be initiated to the plurality of devices by updating a block chain ledger shared among the plurality of devices; and   initiating the planned transfer state subsequent to sharing the final decision.   
     
     
         19 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored which, when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform operations comprising:
 identifying, at a first device in a plurality of devices, a need for additional battery power;   transmitting a request for the additional battery power to one or more member devices in the plurality of devices, wherein the request indicates a planned transfer state required to transfer the additional battery power to the first device;   receiving, from at least one member device in the plurality of devices, at least one response to the request, wherein the at least one response contains a binary competence of the at least one member device to provide the additional battery power; and   initiating, based on the binary competence, the planned transfer state based on the at least one response to the request.